Just a Rusty old gem
by CelestialBirb
Summary: A four-parter fic examining just what sort of relationship Padparadscha may have had with Bort before her coma kicked in. Prequel
1. Chapter 1

**Just a cracked gem**

 **Just as a minor clarification I'm aware that within the manga the gems all use primarily male and generally interchangeable pronouns. But since in the anime, they make no strong emphasis on either gender but they all look generally feminine I've chosen to mostly use female pronouns since the gems as well their voice cast fit into that role easier. Just thought I'd clarify that for those mainly manga readers who I'm sure may prefer that style**

 **Furthermore, this fic will only take into account things in the anime and won't have any spoilers for those who haven't read ahead in the manga (like myself ^-^).**

 **And lastly, since this fic is something of a prequel I will inevitably end up botching a lot of the characters ages in this, since certain gems would definitely be around much longer than others, its canon compliant but I'll try to minimise the possible age inconsistencies as much as possible**

 **That aside, please enjoy**

* * *

Summer was a generally ideal time season for just about all living things, organic or otherwise. The beautiful vegetation of the their tiny little island clear for all to see and admire as the sun accentuated the bright green of the short grasslands that covered nearly everything besides the beach and of course the massive two-story building complex that was something of a mix between a monastery and enormous library that served as a home to all the gems.

Some of their numbers dwindled down over the centuries, thanks to the Lunarians but their presence still especially strong on the Island with most attempts ending in failure. But as the law of averages went, once every few Centuries or so the Lunarian's would just manage to successfully get the better of them, typically a weak link in their ranks. Being one of the oldest Gem, Padparadscha had seen it happen several times over at this point and had worked out the pattern.

A dear friend gets captured, there'd be a whole month of depression and before long they'd be right back to fighting. Lather, rinse, repeat. She hated herself at times for having these cynical thoughts, but as the strongest and most capable gem other than Sensei she couldn't help but feel an obligation to protect all the other gems whom she often thought of as younger siblings, not nearly as often as Yellow but the sentiment was no less strong.

* * *

"Oi, Padpar!" she heard a familiar voice bellow, prompting the sapphire gem to open her and look down from the large boulder on which she decided to catch a rest on, not exactly comfortable but she was an easy gem to please.

Letting out a soft sigh she glanced down at Diamond, that bright multicoloured hair and soft features unmistakeable anywhere no matter where she saw them and smiled before dropping down in front of the smaller gem with her Nagamaki in hand.

"Hey Diamond, what's up?" she replied. No sooner did she see Diamonds face that cracks along her cheeks came into clear view, anxiety clear in her eyes which only meant one thing.

"It's the Lunarians, they caught us off guard and attacked Yellow and me, but they're way more than the usual seven and almost got me…" she said trailing off into an anxious ramble.

"Woah, calm down Dia. Where's Yellow?" she asked as she placed a soothing arm on her shoulder, those cracks couldn't be inflicted easily so they definitely weren't the usual Lunarian strategy.

"Sorry. Ye… Yellow, she told me to go get Sensei. But I saw you up here first. You can handle them, right? You're our best fighter." Diamond said, looking ready to make a mad Dash back to the monastery to get Sensei. Time was of the essence with Yellow being at risk.

Placing both arms on her shoulders, she assumed a more stern demeanour.

"Alright, go get Kongou-sensei. I'll go help Yellow" she said to which Diamond wordlessly nodded before running off back. If she had anything to say to Pad she choose to hold her silence.

Taking a deep breath and getting a quick stretch Padparadscha darted towards the southern hill faster enough to come off as a crimson blur to an untrained eye, her Nagamaki held tight as she surveyed the sky for any sign of their adversaries.

It took her all of three minutes after entering the other twos patrol region to perform a full perimeter check and infuriatingly enough there was no sign of the platinum-haired gem. Performing another search of the area would take more time than she was willing to give, so she went to the largest tree she could find and leaped to the top to survey the region.

"Found them" she whispered to herself in relief as she spotted a gold hue along the cliff edge darting from side to side to avoid an onslaught of arrows threatening to cut her down. If it had taken a minute longer for her to spot Yellow she'd be squeezing her blade hilt hard enough to shatter it.

A second later she launched herself off the tree fast enough to have the top branch snap off as she was once again running at a breakneck speed across the field. And not a second too late she unsheathed her blade to intercept an arrow just before it could strike Yellows head, startling her quite a bit as Pad effortlessly leaped up several feet to meet their aggressors and delivered several precise blows to all of them.

Her red eyes calm and focused as ever as she delivered a series of concentrated strikes that cleaved through the Lunarians like butter, first severing their arms to prevent further resistance and following it up with full a horizontal decapitation that had them all fading into dark mist. Her movements, so swift that it was only four seconds before she dropped back down on her feet.

As she turned back to face Yellow she could see her friend jump back, slightly startled by her sudden presence. It was enough to have the smallest of smirks form on her lips knowing that even a thousand years of fighting the Lunarians she could still move fast enough to catch Yellow off guard.

"Ugh, Padparadscha! Where did you...?" Yellow Diamond blurted looking disoriented from trying to keep her in sight. It didn't last though as with every other time it only took Yellow mere seconds to get over the initial shock and rub the bridge of her nose in relief. "Your unbelievably fast as usual, Pad"

In response, Padparadscha laughed sheepishly and sheathed her blade. "Well, we can't have you getting taken to the moon just yet, can we Yellow? You look no worse for wear though" she said noting the lack of any visible cracks on her body.

"Only because you showed up when you did, that arrow would have cut me down if you didn't show block it". Well it wasn't untrue, still Yellow was the furthest thing from incapable of holding her own in a fight, certainly the second or third strongest next to Cinnabar as far as ability was concerned.

Pad simply smiled in response, before looking past Yellow to see Sensei and the others running to them over the horizon "Ah, looks like we made sensei come out here all for nothing" she said as she held her Nagamaki between her shoulders and glanced back at Yellow who looked a bit embarrassed at everyone else's sudden presence.

Soon enough the distance was closed between them and Pad could feel Sensei's soothing hand on her head, even at her age it was admittedly still a very comforting gesture.

"Seems my worries were unwarranted. Well done Padparadscha" Adamantite said before moving onto Diamond. "Seems their tactics are indeed evolving if they were able to give us this much trouble, I trust you are unharmed, Yellow Diamond?"

"I'm fine thanks to Padparadscha, again" she said as she rubbed her head sheepishly while sensei gave her a maternal pat on the head and examined her for any cracks momentarily before turning back to the others.

"It would seem so. Let us head back then, they likely won't be returning for a few days at most"

"Yes sensei" they all piped in unison before turning back to the monastery.

Padparadscha liked to consider herself a Phlegmatic gem, she never got mad, was generally easy to please and gave a hundred and ten percent in everything she did. Whether it was fighting off the Lunarians, helping Alexandrite on her little experiments or just having a lovely nap (guess which was her favourite?).

But when the others, especially the youngest among her siblings like Diamond, Lapis Lazuli and Heliodor started placing her on Pedestals just because she was the most efficient at killing Lunarians after Sensei then she could admit it was a bit tiring.

 _"Padparadscha's so strong, Wish I could partner up with her"_

 _"The Lunarians must be a joke to Pad, wish I could be that capable. Everything would be so easy then._

 _"She's such an awesome sis, Rutile and Cinnabar could learn to be more laid back like her"_

Of course, she didn't blame them for thinking that way, most of them were barely over a few centuries old and from their still relatively inexperienced perspective, she probably seemed god-like with the blade in hand. But still, it didn't sit well with her knowing some of the others felt like they couldn't just speak to her casually, specifically with little Heliodor who was about seventeen years old and was upbeat but would always get shy whenever they were in the same room.

"Not appreciating the fame then, are you?" Rutile muttered as she examined the sapphire stone in one hand while she wiped away the dust in her other.

"Your welcome to take it off my hands whenever you want" Padparadscha responded as she dug harder into the soil with her shovel.

They were presently looking for Quarts gems by the Cord shore, specifically gems that shared enough characteristics to be compatible with her, to try and mitigate the faints and occasional drowsiness that tended to plague Padparadscha occasionally. As far as the crimson haired gem was concerned though it wasn't of too much importance and only came out this far to appease Rutile and Sensei's concerns. Not to say she wouldn't be thankful of being rid of the discomfort but they came in such brief waves every month or so that they scarcely affected much of her cognitive or physical functions.

"I'm afraid that banners forever synonymous with your name. Why not embrace it?" Rutile questioned as she kneeled over the grass, dressed in a matching white tea shirt and dark shorts, though with the addition of long dark leggings, a matching Nagamaki on her hip and her hair worn down on both sides of her multicoloured head.

Padparadscha internally scoffed at the hint of mockery in her remark and rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say, you scare off most of the youngsters as soon as you make eye contact" she replied as she rested her head on her shovel, with a rather dramatic moan to help get across the 'I'm feeling ostracised, please give me pity and say nice things' vibe. It was a joke of course, though she wouldn't deny any praise from Rutile considering her sharp tongue was the deadliest thing about her, so by that logic the compliments should have been equally as grand.

"I do not 'scare' them off. I simply just don't stick out as much as you" Rutile replied as she flung a stone at Pad who caught it without raising her gaze from the floor "Instead of sulking about it, help me dig up as many Quarts gems as you can find, Pad~" Rutile said as she put another potentially usable gem in the little wheelbarrow next to her.

"Aye, aye captain" she responded as she dropped the stone and carried on digging.

Almost an hour later they managed to gather enough gems and were on their way back to the school, while none of them were exact Padparadscha gems with some skilful gem sculpting Rutile could carve up the compatible minerals and use them to fill some of her holes, assuming there was enough after the carving to actually fill her holes. Mending up broken gems was still very much a skill she was learning.

She held all the shovels while Rutile handled the wheel-barrow which was comparatively easier to steer than it was to carry the two loads on her shoulder, it didn't matter considering she could easily bench press three gems.

Was that an odd statistic to bring up? Well it was because she had at one point had the awkward pleasure of getting stuck at the bottom of a certain staircase incident on a certain evening involving a sleep-deprived Alexandrite, a clumsy Dia, a very unfortunate Benitoite who just happened to be on her way up and an unsuspecting Pad at the stair floor. It was one of those things everyone involved wanted to forget but spectators like Rutile and Yellow never let them live down.

"I should be done carving up the pieces tonight, so drop in my room after lights out" Rutile instructed as they headed away from the beach they heard a loud THUD prompting both gems to stop in their tracks.

Turning back, they spotted a dark silhouette on the beach at the base of the Nascence Crystal.

"Probably another half-formed gem piece" Rutile stated as they glanced at the unmoving mass of black behind them,

"Probably… but better safe than sorry" she said before placing the shovels down and jogging over to the dark figure and prompting Rutile to sigh and watch Pad run off from the corner of her eye.

Perhaps she was being silly considering a gem only formed once every three hundred years or so and considering it was just seventeen years prior that Heliodor formed they're family wasn't due for an addition in a while. Still, something in her gut told her she wanted to be sure.

She Stopped just a few feet away from the gem, the flowing sea stopping just feet away from her legs as she looked down at the gems body which was completely dark and unmoving, the body seemed to be completely formed with the exception of the webbed feet and the lifeless nature of it. Quite common amongst gems that just formed but not encouraging either.

"Hmm…" she hummed as she crouched over the humanoid figure and ran a finger over the gems face and examining the dark sludge on her fingers. Even when the bodies where fully formed, if the gems internal structure where formed improperly or like Pad they lacked certain chunks of flesh the gems wouldn't come to life.

To put her doubts to rest she glanced up at Rutile who was watching her expectantly before hoisting up the silhouette in her arms before heading towards the sea with little regard to the stains on her clothes, would Rutile be irritated if the gem didn't come to life? Probably but she could deal with the nagging if she had to.

Once they were far enough that the water was at her hips she gently dipped the body inside and watched as the sludge began washing off, too bad she significantly underestimated just how thick the stuff was as two minutes in and she still couldn't see a face and her optimism was dwindling down. Yeah, the whole thing was probably gain mud piece that formed into a gem silhouette thanks to the Nascence crystals tendency to form gems into an anthropomorphic shape.

"I'm an idiot" she muttered under her breath as Rutile stepped onto the beach to watch her.

"Well, did it come to life?" she asked.

"Ha… Not exactly"

"So in other words you wasted an extra fifteen minutes playing with mud?" she questioned as Pad turned to face her with the body back in her arms.

"That's an apt description" she replied with a chuckle while Rutile facepalmed.

"Pad"

"Yes?"

"Stop carrying that filthy thing around" her partner stated, motioning to the mud that she was still carrying. Padparadscha was beginning to feel a little dumb now, wordlessly she let the figure sink and began making her way back to shore

That was when she felt something hard grip her right elbow tightly "Gah!" she exclaimed in shock as she looked back at the water and could see the slightest traces of a pale hand gripping her under the mud.

Wait, that meant there really WAS a gem under the mud.

Wordlessly she yanked her hand away with some effort and picked the body back up and out of the water. And there looking back at her were a pair of dark orbs and mud-stained black hair staring back at her.

"Rutile, get Sensei," she said to her partner who by the looks of it had picked up on the same thing and was already hurrying back, freely ignoring the equipment they left behind. She looked back at the Crystal curiously.

 _'Why bring another gem to life so soon after Heliodor...?'_

The question played in her head three times over before she glanced back at the gem that was staring at her through half-lidded eyes, her expression unreadable as Pad glanced at her elbow and could see the smallest of cracks along the area.

"Strange how you came to life…You're definitely a strong one though" she smirked as a gust of wind blew past them. "Something tells me you'll fit right in" she said to the gem before carrying her back to shore, their bodies drenched but the mud almost entirely faded from her nude form.


	2. Chapter 2

"So she's a Bort then? Oh, I've never heard of that before" Dia exclaimed as they all gathered round the door holding their newest addition.

"That's what we know so far" Chrysoberyl replied casually as she placed an arm on her hip with her back against the door, she was literally the only thing standing between them and the new gem.

"I wanna see her! The blanket only left her hair out. Please?" Heliodor whined as she looked up at the much taller Chrysoberyl with puppy dog eyes, it had little effect though.

"She just woke up an hour ago, we need to ease her into her new home. You should know that better than most of us Heliodor considering all the fanfare 'you' got when you joined us" the gold-haired gem pointed out, ignoring the feeble attempts to get to her conscience.

"Come on it's not like were that bad" Lapis muttered as she folded her arms, prompting Chrysoberyl to look at her like she'd grown another head. It was enough to make the aqua haired gem to reconsider her statement

"… Ok maybe we can be a little much on newbies but that was a lifetime ago."

"That was seventeen years ago" Chrysoberyl deadpanned. Well, assuming Heliodor was the only gem being taken into account seventeen years was HER lifetime ago. The gem internally groaned as she heard some more chatter behind the door and her thoughts strayed to the others who were busy doing… Whatever it was they were doing.

 _'Considering how fidgety I was as a gemling I'm sure the others have their work cut out for them… But do they have to take so long…?_

* * *

SNAP!

The sound of a comb breaking in half reverberated through the room as it toppled on the floor and Alexandrite let out a surprised yelp, the young gems dark eyes observing the environment lifelessly as Alex picked up the broken comb. The towel around her torso being the only article of clothing she had on.

"That was my favourite pair, I don't get how her hair keeps going from smooth to stiff at the drop of a dime" she muttered, one arm on Borts' shoulder to keep her seated on the bed next to her while Rutile casually took measurements with a piece of tape at her Borts' feet. Yellow Diamond went through the cupboards looking for clothes that would fit the gem while Padparadscha stood holding several pairs of neatly folded uniforms.

Sensei stood by the window, his arms folded as he looked to the setting sun contemplatively.

"The diamond concertation on her head seems to constitute about twenty-five percent of its total mass, well above average considering the rest of us have our gem only take between five to ten percent of her hair" Rutile explained as she measured Borts' wrist. "… Other than Kongou-sensei I don't think there's a single gem with more natural potential than Bort.."

"Oh, so she could be an even better fighter then Padparadscha?" Alexandrite questioned as she swapped out the comb for a short knife to better loosed out the parts that were more hair than gem.

"Assuming she even wants to be a fighter she could be in her own class actually. Considering how strong her body is there may be a higher chance of a blade shattering on contact with her body than there is of her getting cracked from it."

"You sound awfully sure considering you haven't tried any tests on her body" Alexandrite pointed out.

"Call it an educated opinion."

As the two gems conversed Padparadscha's laid down some of the clothes to the side as Yellow brought out an outfit which she liked best for Bort.

"I think this one goes best, she's got flashy dark hair, so it'll go well together," she said as she showed them a flashy dark variation of their present uniform with some robe like sleeves reminiscent of sensei's attire and held the collar against Borts' chest for the other to see a clear contrast.

"Oh, good point. Matches her hair while also making her stand out more" Alex chirped in agreement.

"Instead of gushing about what fashion choice goes best with her hair couldn't you just pick something that fits comfortably on her back," Rutile remarked as she looked up at the dress from examining Borts palm and nails.

"Hey, It does fit! And there's nothing wrong with getting her dressed up cutely. Right Pad" Yellow defended, glancing at Padparadscha for support and making Rutile roll her eyes. She could offer a sheepish laugh in response, not wanting to get caught in any cross-fires as she glanced at her partner

"I highly doubt she has enough self-awareness to be to cares much about your 'fashion'. Wouldn't you agree Pad?" Rutile rebuked, bringing her gaze to meet the redheads, apparentl expecting Padparadscha to agree on the matter, but one quick look at Yellow and Alex told her this was no win situation.

"Leave me out of this" Padparadscha said warily glancing among them.

"Since when are you the one to sit on the fence?" Rutile questioned in an accusatory tone.

"What I'm not allowed to be neutral?"

"Sure, except on matters where I need to make a point, didn't we hammer that in when we teamed up?" she asked with an innocent head tilt for added sass, what she got in response was a smirking Pad to drape a shirt over her face. Both Alexandrite and Yellow Diamond erupted into fits of laughter as a result, the uniform remaining over Rutiles face for several seconds as she registered just what her partner had done before pulling it off and placing it on the bed before looking up at Padparadscha with those deathly gold eyes.

"You do realise you're going to have pay for that transgression, don't you, Padparadscha?". She hoisted a short serrated blade from her back pocket. "I'll accept reimbursement in dissections only," she said taking step to Pad who instinctively stepped behind Yellow Diamond with her hands still occupied with the clothes.

"Let's not do anything too rash Rutile," she said motioning to Sensei who apparently still had his back to them and had been so quiet they'd forgotten he was even the room. It only gave Rutile temporary pause as the mischevious look on her face made it clear she wouldn't let that slide so easily.

"Yeah, Sensei says 'no fighting' remember," Pad said sticking her tongue out at Rutile from behind Yellow who elbowed her to say 'don't push it please'. She was probably pushing her luck with Rutile, but at this point, she'd instigated these squabbles so often that the comeuppance had grown predictable enough for her to grow numb to it, admittedly the same could be said of putting could be said about putting your hand over a fire so perhaps her acceptance wasn't such a good thing, but who cares.

"Padparadscha," Adamantite soft voice said, giving Rutile pause and Padparadscha a moment to exhale as he looked at her over his shoulder.

"Yes sensei?"

"Elaborate again on just how Bort woke up, please" he requested to which she immediately assumed a less relaxed demeanour and replied

"Well, as Rutile and I were going back we heard a crash…" she went on with the summary, not missing a single detail as Sensei listened attentively. He was most likely just as confused as they were about Borts unusual time of awakening, or perhaps he had something else on his mind that they didn't know about, Adamantite easily knew much more than he'd ever let on about the gems and Lunarians.

After hearing the explanation, a second time he glanced over at the motionless Bort before his features softened.

"Is something wrong, Sensei?" Alex asked uncertainly to which he responded with a reassuring wave.

"Not at all, finish dressing her and we can gradually introduce her to the others".

Over his long life, there was no doubt in Padparadscha's mind that Kongou-sensei had mastered his emotions, and by extension was near impossible to get a real read on, but something in her gut told her there was something on his mind that he was omitting. She didn't question it though, that same gut feeling that second-guessed him was also telling her that there were some things better left alone.

"Yes, sensei" Rutile said as they all wordlessly brought Bort back to their attention.

* * *

The list of characters that made up the gems that populated the school were many things from brash and excitable to strict and a little compulsive (A lot compulsive if you were anything like Chrysoberyl and Alexandrite). They all got a little crazy every now and but almost never at the same, in those cases there were only two main triggers, either there was some kind of present or event being set up for Sensei or there was a new gem in the fold. In this case, it was the latter

"D-Di…"

"Yes, say it Bort. Just a few more letters!"

Everyone was gathered around the large hall of the school, with Bort being seated on a single wooden chair overlooking everyone. In the end, they decided to settle on a dressing in the basic white sleeping gown as Bort kept on tugging at the last three uniform collars they put on.

The sun had set now, and all the gems had nothing better to do than inspect the new face. And surprisingly enough while Bort did seem a bit uncertain about all the faces looking up at her she wasn't too distressed. If anything, she seemed even more curious than unnerved as she stared back at Diamond who was trying to get her to say her name

"D…" she just managed to say as she glanced over at Padparadscha who gave playful wink.

"Yes Bort, say Diamond" she said though it was clear Bort wasn't paying attention to her anymore as her gaze shifted to Rutile and Alexandrite, much to Dia's dismay. "Aww, Bort your so mean" she whined only looking slightly dejected.

"Her hairs so soft" Heliodor chimed as she held a lock of dark hair to her cheek, next to the blue haired gem Euclase could be seen staring at her a bit hesitantly. On the one hand, wanting to touch Borts hair as well but trying to show restraint as one of the elder gems. Odd she felt that need considering Yellow Diamond typically never had much restraint despite being just as old as Padparadscha who watched the sight passively next to Rutile and Sensei. Not to say she wasn't interested in Bort, to the contrary she'd had every intention of setting time aside to get to know her and maybe teach her some things. With how perfect she was as a gem it seemed unlikely that she wouldn't have some interest in fighting eventually, after all almost all of them were fighters.

She was suddenly pulled out of her reverie when she felt Rutile yank her sleeve

"Hmm?" she responded as she glanced at Rutile.

"As I recall, you agreed to have a checkup in my room past sun down" she pointed out much to Pads apprehension.

"Can't we hold it off until tomorrow or something?" she suggested, with a hopeful smile.

"Not this time I'm afraid."

"But what about Bo-" she was cut off by Rutile yanking her to the side, not interested in letting Padparadscha stall any longer. It only took her a second to regain her footing and debate the pros and cons of resisting but considering how much Rutile had been hounding her on this for the last few weeks she was willing to play patient if only to set her mind at ease.

With the sheer size of the school they never wanted for more space with the first and ground floor being the main spaces gems occupied, any level above that was mainly used as a storage facility, frankly, even if their numbers doubled over the coming millennia the first floor could still house all the gems with a few bedrooms to spare.

Heading up a flight of stairs Padparadscha followed Rutile across the hall to her own personal bedroom which was more unique than everyone else's in how little it actually looked used, the bedsheet had been clearly folded in the same manner it had been four days prior. A habit Padparadscha could unabashedly admit she may have assimilated into Rutile in her younger years with all the late-night card games she often indulged in with Alex and Yellow.

No sooner had Rutile closed the door behind her did she hear a low click of the door locking and considering she was in Rutile's lair there was something weirdly unnerving about locking the door.

"You can have a seat on the bed an unbutton your shirt," Rutile said as she opened up her cupboard and reached for a wooden bowl containing the gems they'd dug up.

"Take off my shirt? You could at least give me a peck on the cheek or walk along a moonlight beach before asking me to strip down for you, Rutile" she said, pointing an accusatory finger at her partner who tilted her head owlishly with the bowl held in both hands.

"Believe me I've seen gems naked enough times to last a lifetime, Padparadscha" she responded as she laid the bowl down and picked through the gems. "Now are you going to unbutton your shirt, or will I have to do it for you?"

"So that's all I am to you then? Just a rock you can manhandle whenever the mood strikes you? I thought we had something special, Rutile" Padparadscha responded looking hurt as she placed an arm over her chest.

"Since when do I ever manhandle you? Do you spend all your free time devising new innovative ways of pushing my buttons, Padparadscha?". Pad had a few comebacks in mind, but since Rutile was being especially naggy these past few days, the drama queen option was a lot more appealing would be more fun.

"Pushing the blame on the victim. How quaint, Rutile" Padparadscha said before dramatically covering her face and sobbing into her hands as Rutile observed expressionlessly, with how hard she was hamming it up the scene could easily fit the genre of some terminally ill patient.

"Pad, your shirt buttons please…?" Rutile requested a second time only to be ignored. Of course, it wouldn't last and within a minute wailing had lost its novelty as she peeked through her fingers to see her partner staring daggers at her, thoroughly unimpressed.

"… Are you done?" she asked.

"Yes"

"Good. Take off your shirt, already". It wasn't a suggestion as much as it was a command which Padparadscha complied to, albeit with a few grumbles along the lines of 'your no fun'.

* * *

As with all things that had their moment under the spotlight Borts time as everyone's new favourite gem had reached its climax and once they'd passed the one month mark, everyone had become somewhat accustomed to her presence in the school and carried on with their activities as usual. Sensei, Chrysoberyl, and Alexandrite had pulled out their old teaching scheme and were gradually easing Bort into the basic language.

Nothing written though, as things stood she still only understood a few basic phrases. According to Sensei while she wasn't unheard she was learning much faster than most of them had at her stage. Though she did have a tendency to not know how to get back up whenever she fell, something Padparadscha admittedly found both adorable and funny.

So far almost every gem had gotten some time with her, Yellow Diamond had taken her out to the courtyard near the school and planted multiple flowers in her head, Euclase had taken her to the library, Dia spent an hour trying to get her to say her name which hilariously enough had the same result of Bort losing interest and move focus to something else and Heliodor basically just saw it fit to put her in as many outfits as possible within the time she had with Bort. At this point, the only gems that hadn't had time to spend with Bort were Rutile, Padparadscha, Benitoite, and Cinnabar. Though the latter's case was out of a self-imposed exile.

It was a nice sunny afternoon and with the most recent Lunarians attack happening just the previous day Padparadscha decided to use the new downtime to relax along the wall of their medical center, her body soaking the warmth and sparkling ever so slightly under its rays. Rutile was on the training ground with Yellow and Dia making this one of the rare moments where Padparadscha could just sit and enjoy her own company, not that Rutiles presence ever a source of anything other than warmth and comfort. No, only a prickly outer layer.

Turning on her side Pad leaned into her hands and let out a relaxed exhalation. Frankly, they didn't get nearly enough sun most days so this was nothing short of heavenly for her. Making it all the more irritating when she felt a shadow on her face, she groaned in displeasure at the obstruction and opened one eye to stare at her assailant. She was expecting to see Rutile back to terrorise her or perhaps Chrysoberyl looking for an assistant on some tedious work. But nope she had a dark pair of coal eyes staring unhinged at her crimson orbs, it was Bort, of course, looking scary as hell.

"That's one way to wake someone up…" Padparadscha said looking only slightly taken aback on the outside, though she was actually quite startled. Sitting up she looked at Bort with a friendly smile. "Shouldn't you be with Benito-kun right about now Bort?" she asked as she gave her a pat on the head. In response, Bort merely blinked back at her before grabbing Padparadscha's wrist and placing it on her face somewhat awkwardly.

"Hmm? Something on your mind Bort?" she asked curiously as she pulled her hand back only to have it yanked back in place. "I'll take that as a yes…" she muttered, she wasn't sure exactly how to react or get her hand back without being a little forceful and decided a little patience wouldn't hurt.

With an amused smirk on her lips, Padparadscha with her limited motion caressed the area around Borts' forehead, pushing a few strands back as she felt some light sensations go through her body. When two gems of opposing material contents came into direct contact there tended to be the subtlest of vibrations between them, the more they interacted the less noticeable it would of course become, extended contact was always a little weird but with time the little 'clinks' actually grew to be rather intimate and pleasant sensation, call it one of those unspoken truths all gems were aware of.

It took some subtle prodding but within moments she'd ascertained just how much arm movement Bort would allow without tightening her grip on her arm. She had no idea if Bort was legitimately enjoying the feeling or just acting on curiosity, but she was definitely not the soft and gentle type of gem. Bringing her arm down to Borts' cheek she watched in amusement as the gem leaned into her arm more with just smallest of smiles, definitely enjoying it then.

"Can I have my arm back yet Bort?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a no then". Thankfully Bort had released her arm now, seemingly no longer feeling the need to hold her hand in place, but with how much mileage she was getting out of it Padparadscha somehow doubted Bort wanted her to stop. So she didn't, letting this admittedly weird encounter serve as a bonding exercise between them. After all, even if she still hadn't developed enough to converse with anyone she still had her own little quirks, a tendency to get forceful whenever she couldn't have whatever fascinated her, an above average amount of self-confidence considering she almost never got frightened and an above average learning rate.

"Huh, she seems to have taken quite a liking to you," said Chrysoberyl from along the hallway behind Pad, prompting her to look over at the blonde gem staring back at her.

"She won't let me have my hand back unless I pet her," Padparadscha said with a chuckle as one of her legs hung over the outside of the open wall, the arm that wasn't stroking Bort plopped over her other knee in a relaxed pose.

This warranted a giggle from the other gem who walked over to them and from the look of how entranced Bort was with whatever mini vibrations her arm was sending through her skull she hadn't even noticed the new company. "How odd, she doesn't really seem to particularly enjoy it whenever anyone pats her other than Sensei… Wait weren't you the one that thawed her out?" Chrysoberyl asked as she folded her arms and looked contemplatively at Bort.

"Yeah, I guess. Whats that matter?". She wasn't entirely sure she wanted an answer to that question.

"Come now, isn't it obvious? You were the first face she saw when she woke up, she's imprinted on you or something."

"What?" Padparadscha looked absolutely dumbfounded. "You mean that thing organic lifeforms do when their eggs hatch?"

Chrysoberyl looked more than satisfied with that answer, much to Padparadscha's dismay. "Yup. You're like her mom or something. Just look at how she's gazing at you, just begging for love and attention". As if to reinforce the honour students statement Bort hugged Padparadscha's arm and bringing her gaze back to those blank coal orbs.

Wait… If what she was saying was true then all their past interactions took on a whole different meaning, all those winks and friendly waves she'd give Bort whenever they'd cross paths with Dia or Heliodor, was she unknowingly reinforcing herself as some distant motherly figure to Bort?

"You can't be serious, if anything she should think of Dia as her mother, I'm hardly ever around her"

"Well, absence does beget longing. Poor Bort just wants your attention" Chrysoberyl said looking her straight.

"…" she didn't know how to respond to that, being at a loss for words wasn't exactly a feeling the red gem was accustomed to. She didn't know the first thing about being a parental figure of any kind, nor did she ever think that sort of position would ever befall her. Perhaps the first time in her two millennia's on this earth, Padparadscha felt like crying.


	3. Chapter 3

As it turned out, Chrysoberyl's on the spot observation was mostly just a ploy to get a rise out of her, mostly. And a rather cruel one at that, rendering the usually aloof Padparadscha shocking passive for a solid three days thanks to the paranoia that had her looking over her shoulder ever so often end up spending the better half of the following day locked up in her room.

Joke or not it did little to stop it from reaching almost every gems ear, including Sensei whom adding insult to injury Chrysoberyl encouraged to have Padparadscha play a more active role in teaching Bort since her presence apparently made it easier for the other gems to stay put, or so they said, Padparadscha had her doubts.

Chrysoberyl, no doubt feeling some form of guilt for indirectly getting Pad to sacrifice her free time to help with teaching Bort was trying to warm her way back into her good side over a game of cards

"Well, there are worse assignments you can get," Chrysoberyl said with an apologetic smile as she pushed forward another card on the table. A single glance from Padparadscha was enough to get her to shrink back though.

"Am I supposed to take some comfort in that?" she retorted, her tone while controlled enough to not give off anger still carrying its fair share of salt as Padparadscha placed her played her own card on the table.

"Aren't you being a little mean though? " Alexandrite said, defending Chrysoberyl who was too unnerved to keep eye contact with Pads blank, albeit dagger-like gaze.

"Not at all, she put me in this spot, and I'll keep reminding her until it gets boring". Aside from the three of them both Rutile, Yellow Diamond and Euclase were present watching the argument with mixed feelings, from a slightly nervous Yellow and Euclase who were a bit worried about it becoming more heated to an apathetic Rutile whose sole attention was on the keeping score as they entered the third round.

"But she wasn't even the one that spread the rumour". No one was pointing any fingers or confronting the others about it but it was either Benitoite or Heliodor as both were close enough that they could have ease dropped from either the stairs or corner, most likely the latter considering such things just weren't in Benito's nature and Heliodor was still young and still had a bit of learning to do with regards to privacy. That being said no such boundaries existed between her Chrysoberyl who wasn't even a decade apart in age.

"Attacking low hanging fruit then? Just because she's the only one you can take your annoyance out on doesn't mean you should? Right guys" Alex said, looking to the others for support with a frown. Yellow laughed nervously, Rutile wasn't really paying much attention at all to the chatter with Euclase being the only one that seemed to be in support of Alex

"W-well I think you should maybe… Be a little less hard on her Pad. She's clearly sorry" Euclase said a bit timidly, even if she was technically a 'senior' she was still the youngest with the closest gem to her having a five-hundred-year age difference. So, her timidity was somewhat understandable.

"That will take some doing" she replied without taking her gaze off Chrysoberyl who sighed in exasperation and played another card. Alexandrite rolled her eyes as she placed a reassuring arm on her partners back.

Without so much as a warning Rutile's hammer planted a not so gentle bonk against Padparadscha's elbow sending a very abrupt and unpleasant string of vibrations across her body and getting a gasp out of a now very dazed looking Pad.

"Eeee!" she yelped as the unpleasant sound 'ringing' could be heard through the room and fell on her side. "Traitor, what was that for?" she said as succumbed to the temporary paralysis that enveloped her body.

"Traitor?" Rutile repeated with a raised brow. "I'm keeping score remember? You just lost the third round by my math , ergo the punishment is a hammer". She was teasing of course, and Padparadscha was not at all amused by it as she felt her motion gradually come back to her, courtesy of her sturdy build, didn't stop the snickering though.

"A heads up would have been nice though!" Padparadscha said with a pout as she sat up. She couldn't tell if she had legitimately lost that match or Rutile was just messing with her for kicks again, probably both.

"Now what's the fun in that?" Rutile responded nonchalantly as Pad rubbed her elbow dejectedly. Definitely for kicks then.

"Surely Bort isn't that bad. A little unruly maybe but she's too adorable to hate working with. But I guess Padparadscha's the exception" Chrysoberyl cut back in, giving Pad a puzzled look as she folded her arms.

"Borts not the issue here and you know it. Quit trying to divert attention there" Padparadscha shot back as they glared back at each other.

"Do I? So far the only thing that's clear is how much of a whiny no-good layabout of a gem you are"

"Says the one who went told Sensei I wanted to more classroom duty while you spent the last week pitching a tent in the library. If I'm whiny then your conniving hussy."

The game's atmosphere had been a little strained from the start, yes. But now it was really getting heated as the others observed the exchange anxiously as it went from playful banter to venomous insults.

"At least I was actually doing something productive with my time! If you're not out fighting off the Lunarians, you just while away your evenings sleeping all over the place" Chrysoberyl retorted, the words coming out of her lips faster than she was thinking, a slip up that didn't go unnoticed by Padparadscha who scoffed.

"So you admit telling Sensei about Borts attachment was more about getting you down time than it ever was about helping her then? Thanks for clearing up that bit of confusion _Ms. Honour student_ " she said with a mocking glint in her eye. If Chrysoberyl was legitimately ashamed of her actions or not wasn't clear through their intense staring contest.

"Guys, cut it out," Yellow Diamond said as she placed a calming hand on Padparadscha's shoulder. "Before one of you says something they regret later."

"Yeah. This isn't like either of you" Alexandrite said as she turned to her partner, uncertain of what to make of the revelation

"Sure, your not just seeing how she really is on the inside, Alex?" Padparadscha muttered scornfully

"You insufferable Padparadscha!" Chrysoberyl growled as she stood up and took a step towards Pad who was on her feet in seconds.

"And your conceited," she said taking her own step forward as the other got off their wooden chairs. Standing just a few feet away from each other Pad was only just slightly taller than Chrysoberyl was.

"Pad calm down!" Rutile berated with a worried look as she reached out to grab her wrist only to have her hand batted off.

"No point trying to talk that one down Rutile, don't forget Pad sacrificed all her brains for bronze" Chrysoberyl taunted.

"Wanna repeat that? Maybe a few steps closer Chrys?" Padparadscha suggested as she played with some of her hair.

"What too dumb to get that message Pad? Well if you insist I'd be happy to scream it into your ears, yet I feel like even then you'd have trouble understanding, having no smarts and all" she said taking a step to Padparadscha only to have Alexandrite step between them with her arms raised.

Her eyes narrowed as she scowled moved between the crimson gem and honour student "Enough! Are either of you even listening to yourselves? What do you think any of your younger siblings would think if they saw you acting this way" the emerald gem said with a look of disappointment?

"Alex, you're in the way," Chrysoberyl said before pushing her aside and stepping up to Padparadscha, the two of them giving each other death glares.

Alexandrite was too flabbergasted by the dismissive manner in which her partner treated her to do more than stare uncertainly at the two gems. Both Euclase and Yellow looked a bit frightened for Chrysoberyl, while she was undoubtedly one of the stronger gems in their ranks and was only just slightly behind Pad in hardness she likely wouldn't last long in any sort of physical altercation with her.

"Still want me to repeat that line? Or did the information finally get through that cranium of yours?" Chrys mocked, their faces mere inches apart, just daring each other to do something.

"Defective rock" Pad sneered.

"Vagabond"

"bitch"

The others watched on, all attempts to stop the two of them from going at it having failed. Even Rutile whose demeanour was usually unflappable looked a bit scared as silence enveloped and Chrysoberyl hands curled into fists. They were literally just waiting for the first fist to fly at this point. What they weren't expecting was for the two gems to break into giggling fits.

"Um… What?" Yellow Diamond said looking stupefied as the two gems laughed and stepped away from each other looking like they'd pulled some sort of joke. Euclase tilted her head uncertainly as the two gems who a moment ago looked like they were ready to lunge at each other throats embraced as their laughter gradually died down.

"Was this some kind of prank?" Rutile asked as she folded her arms her lips an unreadable line as as she made eye contact with her partner.

Padparadscha giggled in response before they broke the hug so she could turn to Rutile. "Not quite…" she said as she turned to Chrysoberyl who gave a sheepish smile. "More like an old game we use to play"

"I don't know how throwing around hurtful insults constitutes a game to you, but it is an old habit" Chrysoberyl clarified.

"You phrase it like I'm the instigator of all this, it was your idea," she said, chuckling as she punched the blonde gems arm.

Alexandrite for her part looked ready to kill either one of them as she exhaled and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I've been here as long as either of you since when was viciously verbally abusing each other a pass time you guys engaged in?" Alexandrite said looking to yellow for clarity only to have the gem raise her arms and shrug.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. Not exactly something we've done in a while" Chrysoberyl pointed out."… In brief, back when it was just me, you, Padparadscha, Yellow and Green Diamond. There was this one-time Padparadscha 'accidentally' got some of my favourite books burnt trying to make a fire-"

It was at this point Pad decided to cut in. "That's a nice way of putting it, just don't ask why I was making a fire-" she said placing a relaxed arm on her waist. "-… In what actually matters she got really mad and wouldn't talk to me for a few days until I suggested we play cards in my room, someone said something dumb and the other reacted just badly… Got into a shouting match, kinda like now" she

"Until we both realised we were being silly" Chrysoberyl resumed where Pad left off, the two gems locking their elbows together to emphasise the fondness they both shared with the memory. "We agreed to never get that worked up ever again… But with sulky Pads been acting because of what I said. It got me remembering it.

"And so she suggested to me last night, we try it again. In front of an unsuspecting crowd" Padparadscha finished as they looked to other. With luck, they'd take the little joke in the right humour.

Yellow Diamond was the first to respond, laughing into her hand. "Ah, I think I vaguely remember Pad dragging me along for that fire. That was so long ago though I'm shocked you guys didn't forget" she said with a nostalgic smile while Eucalse gave a small smile.

"Ah, I-I don't really get it, but if you guys aren't really fighting… Then its alright for me" the gem said. Things were looking bright until the glanced at their individual partners who both looked ticked off.

"Consider yourselves lucky it was just a game. There'd be hell to pay if sensei heard you guys" Alexandrite scolded as she fixed Chrysoberyl with a disapproving scowl before yanking on her ear and pulling.

"Probably, but its fine-ow! That hurts Alex" chrysoberyl said at the sudden pain of having her ear yanked.

"I thought you guys were gonna rip each other respective new ones. Then you pass It off as a joke after brushing me off?". Alexandrite's tone was stark with accusation. Padparadscha was about to speak in her friend's defense when something in her gut told her to duck or face something unpleasant.

She responded swiftly, of course, passing right under Rutile's hammer. She quickly stepped back and raised her arms up defensively.

"What is with you and hammers, Rutile?" Padparadscha whined as her partner twirled the tool her dextrous fingers, a sadistic smirk on her lips.

"Simply mating out punishment for that little anxiety trip you subjected me to," she said before closing the distance and tackling Padparadscha to the ground, pinning her between her feet.

"Um, a little help guys…" she said looking to Yellow who stretched slightly and yawned.

"Oh look at the time, I really should get some sleep. Wouldn't you agree, Euclase?" she said looking to other gem who giggled and nodded.

"You make a good point, there's a ton of work to do. I hope you guys have fun" Euclase said as she grabbed her notepad and waved apologetically to Padparadscha as they both turned tail and walked off.

"Hey, you can't just leave us like this! Our deaths will be on your heads" Padparadscha droned on as she felt the lightest of tap on her nose from the hammer, sending the smallest of horrid vibrations along her face. "I get that you were worried about me but isn't this a little excessive".

Rutile ignored her in favour of glancing at Alexandrite who made eye contact with her while still tugging on a pleading Chrysoberyl ear. As though they'd passed along some kind of telepathing argument Rutile tossed her a spare hammer she apparently had on her person, for some reason. That was not good.

"We won't break you of course, but you'll both be walking funny for a few days after this" Alexandrite said she pinned against the wall with a sadistic glint in her eye.

'Yeah, maybe this wasn't worth it' was the last thought that went through both gems mind as they as the cruel vibrations started, rendering both gems immobile and at their partner's mercy

* * *

The gems didn't exactly have a training grounds but when your entire home is ninety percent empty grass-land with only the occasional tree spread through the Island almost everywhere was an adequate spot to cross blades. In an entirely fair and friendly duel, ideally at least. Other than being a great way of staying in shape the training was the go two way of improving on tactics, and of course, blow off some steam.

After spending an entire day not being able to feel legs, Padparadscha was more than happy to cross blades with someone, and perhaps to a lesser extent Chrysoberyl as well. With how their joke ended in mutual regret after Rutile and Alex decided to team up with them. Not that she was mad or anything, not at all. Though she had no intention of going easy on either of them if they ended up being sparring partners.

"Huh, you're really getting good with those parry's" Padparadscha muttered as she batted away a blade thrust at her torso and got blade locked with Yellow diamond.

"Nice of you to notice, not so sure if it'll be much use against you though" Yellow diamond replied with a smile as she shoved Pad back a few feet before lunging forward with a diagonal slash the gem easily sidestepped.

To their sides, there were a few other gem pairs engaging in their own duel, spaced out enough that no one ever got into each other's crosshairs as they fought. While the others who weren't interested in participating simply sat and watched the comfort of the grass.

"Come on. Give yourself a little more credit Yellow" Padparadscha replied just as Yellow diamond began her own string of consecutive attacks, starting out with some basic slashes before ramping the pressure up to one hundred to try and catch her off guard from the spontaneous shift in speed. It didn't work of course as Padparadscha kept a close eye on her blade at all times, either deflecting and or evading all the attacks as they came at her. When it came to fighting Yellow, the biggest thing she had to contend with was that blinding speed of hers. She was faster of course, though only by the smallest margin.

Seeing the tiniest of openings Padparadscha nicked Yellow's cheek just before she could leap back a few feet. As far as skills went Yellow Diamond was pretty well rounded, save for the fact that she was only just decent at defending heavy attacks and had no real counter to anyone who could put up a reasonable defense against her, thus her usually effective technique of 'come at them hard and fast' was of little use here. Granted there weren't many gems that could do that.

Not having much else she could do Yellow ignored the injury and engaged Padparadscha again and after a brief clash of blades she deflected Yellows blade into the air and caught in her other arm.

"I guess you win again then," Yellow said with a humourless chuckle.

"Maybe so, but you've come a long way. As I recall I disarmed you in ten seconds of our first fight. Can't confidently say I can do that now" Padparadscha pointed out with a reassuring smile as she handed her blade back.

"That was over a thousand years ago Pad If I can't beat you within that time frame. I never will" she replied as she took the blade and sheathed it. "Not selling my self shortor anything, I can hold my own with anyone. But you're the one gem here I don't think anyone can measure up against". Yellow's words held a level of honesty she could easily attest she hadn't seen a long while.

"That's quite a pedestal your setting for me," she said rubbing the back of her head and laughing nervously. "But I appreciate the vote of confidence Yellow."

"Getting chummy you two?" they heard Rutile mutter, prompting them to turn round to face Rutile who was holding her sheathed katana for the next duel.

"Maybe. What, feeling Jealous Rutile?" Padparadscha teased while Yellow sighed

"Not at all. But I am looking for a sparring partner if you two are done" Rutile replied as she glanced to Padparadscha who turned to Yellow to avoid her gaze.

"We are actually…" she noticed Bort and Diamond standing far off on the field practicing the basic form. "But I agreed to help Dia with Borts training after. So you'll have to settle with Yellow" she explained, giving Yellow a signaling wink that was met with a resigned nod.

"I see. Very well then, I'm happy to spar with Yellow" Rutile replied, taken off guard by turning her down but quickly getting over it. Call it childish, but after the torture her supposed best friend put her through she wasn't going to bend over to her whims. Not for a while at least

"Are you? I'm no slouch, you know" Yellow said with a confident smirk that Rutile reflected back.

"Neither am I".

Padparadscha tuned them out as she rested her blade on her shoulder and walked over to the two other gems who from the looks of it Dia was more focused on teaching her how to hold the blade rather than swinging it as Bort would constantly grab both the hilt and bladed end.

Teaching a gem anything was always an endeavour that required bottomless amounts of patience, with that in mind Diamond was probably the best fit for Bort, at least at this stage. Though what really caught her off guard was how proactive Dai had been from the moment she laid eyes on Bort that night, constantly volunteering to help with class, teaching Bort how to dress and manage her hair and now trying to mentor her on how to use the blade. Through it all she always smiling, even when Bort wasn't really getting it.

"Teaching Bort combat already? You don't waste any time" Padparadscha said with a toothy grin as she made her presence known to Diamond and Bort who looked up at her in surprise.

"Oh hey Padparadscha" Dia greeted her senior with a welcoming smile while Borts eyed her.

"Hello… Padparadscha" Bort said in a monotonous voice as the blade dropped from her hold again, she would have laughed at that if she wasn't caught off guard by the words that left Borts mouth.

"Oh, you've learned language already? You really do learn fast" the redhead exclaimed in pleasant surprise as Diamond picked up the blade and placed it back in Borts' hand. "You haven't even been here for half a year". She would quickly learn her praise was a bit premature as the next words that would come out Borts would be indiscernible gibberish.

"She only knows a few words, silly Padparadscha" Diamond said with an amused giggle that had her blushing in embarrassment. "Namely mine and yours"

"Ah, yes. That makes more sense" she said trying to get the red off her face with a self-deprecating laugh. "Speaking of sense, are you sure it's a good time for her to be holding weapons? I mean she may not even understand what she's doing and hurt herself".

"Its alright, I'm aware of the risks senpai. I'm only just showing her the basic stances, she won't be injuring herself on my watch" Diamond replied with a self-assured smile though it wasn't enough to convince her.

"I know you will, but honestly. I'm more worried about what she can do to the rest of us"

"What do you mean?" Dia asked in confusion as Padparadscha folded her arms and glanced over at Bort who was drawing her blade along the grass in circles.

"I mean teaching her how to fight at this stage where she only has just the vaguest definition of right and wrong could make her dangerous to the rest of us" she stated, bringing her gaze back to Dia who's face reflected between passive scepticism and uncertainty.

"It can't be that bad…"Dia said as her gaze shifted to the side, still not convinced

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were around when Yellow tried to teach Ruby how to fight. Tried to cut Kongou-sensei when he decided to take it back. Though not after breaking off one of Yellow's legs and cutting Opal down" Padparadscha pointed out. This time Diamond's eyes widened in horror at the reveal.

"Oh, that's horrible. I never thought something like that could happen…" Diamond's gaze shifted to the dark-haired gem who was writing some misspelled words on the grass with her blade with a single-minded determination.

"Sorry, didn't mean to unsettle you. But that's the main reason why we never trained any of you until you were a few years old. With Borts level of raw potential, any tantrum could have her shattering the any of us without trying". She was beginning to feel like killjoy now so in a weak attempt to lighten the mood she added. "I won't stop you but I wouldn't mind helping out if you need it"

It should have been ineffective, but somehow it made Dia's eyes light up with renewed excitement. "Really? You'd help with that?" Dia said placing both arms on her shoulder and staring up at her happily

"Ah… Sure I don't do much else when I'm not waiting for the Lunarians to attack." Padparadscha said hiding her slight discomfort with a shaky smile. "But if you don't mind me asking, why'd you decide to teach her combat of all things?". At that question Diamond released her and twiddled her thumbs with an embarrassed smile.

"Well… She was just always staring at you from a distance while you were training or fighting Lunarians. I-I… I thought if maybe I taught her what I know about fighting Bort would look up to me too" Diamond admitted in embarrassment as realisation dawned on Padparadscha's face.

So that was why she was doing this? All her way of trying to get Bort to look up to her as with all the other chorus she'd taken up.

"What are you talking about Dia? You're the only gem she ever listens to when you call, sure she likes it when I pat her, but that's more to do with her just being young than it is with me having some kind of magnetic charisma"

"Only after I spent months trying to get her to open up to me… She instantly took to you, without you even lifting a finger. You're so good at everything practically everyone looks up to you, and I guess I thought I could have something like that with Bort. I'm sorry for sounding jealous Padparadscha, I'm really a horrible gem" Diamond admitted as Pad watched her with a growing frown on her lips.

"Dia…" she started when she felt an arm wrap around her in a hug, of course, Bort would choose now of all times to get interested in her again.

"See, she just adores you" Diamond stated, doing a poor job of masking her dejection. "She's the one you should be teaming up with Bort. I'm just not cut out for this". She needed to fix this now, but she wasn't exactly sure how as she felt Borts take hold of her arm place it back on her head. Eventually she decided to stop thinking and just act.

"Diamond. You need to stop comparing yourself to me" she said just before slipping out of Borts grasp and pulling her over to Diamond who just caught her with a yelp as Padparadscha wrapped an arm over her shoulder and held her and Bort close together.

"Senpai, what are you doing?" Diamond said sounding very confused as Bort blinked up at her in surprise from the sudden move.

"Just wait" she replied as the seconds passed by and she watched the two gems. Then in one move Bort seemingly decided she didn't mind the swap and embraced Diamond, all the same, nuzzling against her chest and drawing a squeal out of her while Padparadscha smiled in relief. "You see Dia? She's warmed up to you as well. Maybe she's attached to me too, but you're the one that's been there from the beginning, you'll be a lot more important to her in the long run"

"Bort, I… Too tight!" Dia squeaked as she other gem hoisted her up effortlessly. "Pad, some help please". Padparadscha laughed lightly before gently urging Bort to release with a shoulder squeeze and with some encouragement she was released from the bear hug.

"Still feeling underappreciated?" she teased as Diamond who giggled and patted Bort's head. Quite suddenly she could feel the vaguest of shifts in her chest and placed an arm over it while trying to brush it off. She always had these little sudden fatigue attacks and just needed to wait for it through for a few hours.

"No… Just a little silly and maybe a bit less envious" she conceited making her let out a laugh and wink at her.

"Well, less is a start. But now to get to work on her footwork… " she suggested when she felt a kick in her chest and staggered slightly

"Are you alright senpai, you look sick" Dia said as she glanced at Pad worriedly, even warranting a puzzled glance from Borts usual Owl gaze.

"It's fine, … Just a little tired."

"one of those spontaneous exhaustions you go through every month? I can help you back t-" Diamond said, grabbing her arm. Padparadscha didn't particularly mind being coddled by other but if Rutile saw her struggling to get around with Diamond she wouldn't hear the end of it for days, and that wasn't something she wanted to put her partner through regularly. So, she focused on whatever sense of motor control she still had and stood straight.

"Its not that bad, don't worry. Sorry, I couldn't help more with Bort" she said ruffling Borts' hair and turning to Dia.

"We can do that anytime, don't worry about it. But are you SURE your alright senpai?" Diamond asked, looking somewhat unconvinced.

"I've been dealing with these since I was your age, don't worry so much," she said before turning on her heel and walking back to the school, just managing to hold in the growing weakness and look completely fine outward. She'd done this plenty of times, she could do it again, she'd find her bad and just lay down for a bit. Maybe take a nap, until it passed.

Just when she was sure she could pull it off like she had done countless times in the past, she could see a flash of light from the corner of her eyes, just as the vision faded from her still very open pupils and felt her face coming into contact with the grass. Her hearing was the last thing to fade as she heard a number of gems call her name before everything washed-out.


	4. Chapter 4

It was odd, having only the mildest sense of consciousness, her eyelids were heavy and it felt like there was a massive weight anchoring her down and preventing her from making even the slightest of budges, yet she also felt completely weightless.

Occasionally, she would hear some chatter and maybe feel an arm on her chest, they never lasted of course as the ability to feel things regularly left her as she'd drift through a sort of limbo between standing on the precipice of consciousness, only to get dragged back down to the very bottom again, like climbing to the top of a well and having her rope snap before she could reach for the hood. It always turned out that way, prolonged periods of non-existence only occasionally interrupted by background noises and the weird sensation of her figure being tampered with.

Her eyes fluttered open and were met with a black void of emptiness, her nostrils registered the potent scent of old wood that was probably a little past its use date. But the most immediately apparent issue was the claustrophobic feeling of confinement coupled with her disorientation to make her feel incredibly distressed, and as a nice icing on the cake, she could barely summon enough strength to budge an inch.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves Padparadscha focused on flicking her arms about until she'd regained enough sensation to raise them up and traced her finger along the flat lid covering, trying to get a feel of its shape while stretching her legs out slightly, once she was ready she gave it hard push and felt the lid slide right off.

The lights hit her hard, but she adjusted quite quickly to the sun's rays as she shielded her eyes and took in her environment. And from the looks of it she was in the infirmary, though with no gems to be seen.

"Must have been out for at least a day. That's a new" she muttered to herself as she kicked her legs out of the box and buttoned up her shirt, with her feet swung them about until she was sure she could support her own weight.

She felt stiff all over so standing upright came with its own share of discomfort that she struggled to shake off. Stretching out Pad let out a relaxed groan and picked up the box cover to put back in place when she heard strangled gasp that had her look over her shoulder in alarm.

It wasn't immediately apparent but looking back she could just make out Rutile's familiar features from the end of the hallway behind a noticeably very different look. The most obvious being she now wore a long white lab coat over what seemed to be a newer variation of their uniform that had a tie and suspenders that went well with the lab coat, but probably looked a little funny on its own. as a bit silly looking without. The other noticeable change was her hair which was brushed back on one end and draping over her face on the left side.

Held in her hand was a bowl containing contents that resembled gem shattered gem parts as Padparadscha narrowed her eyes in confusion. Something felt very off. Without a word passing through her lips, Rutile walked over to her at a brisk pace, her arms visibly shaking as she stopped a few feet away from Padparadscha and placed the bowl to the side without averting her gaze

"Well, if you've had a change in wardrobe… I'm guessing I was out cold for a while…" Padparadscha said looking back at her partner whose piercing gaze was akin to seeing a long-lost friend, it was a bit unsettling frankly.

"I'm not hallucinating am I…?" Rutile finally said as a hesitant arm reached out to hold her cheek,

"Ha, you're not the one that was stuck in a box so probably not" she joked in an attempt to break the ice. Rutile didn't acknowledge it though, and her arm gripped Padparadscha's shirt tight.

"I thought you'd never wake up, I've operated countless times, all through the day and night for such long time…" Rutile said, her grip tightening enough to get a bit uncomfortable as her gaze went to the floor"

In that instant it dawned on Padparadscha that she had been gone for probably much longer than just a few months, perhaps a few years even. Perhaps the strongest emotions she could sense from Rutile was a pit of longing and sadness that she was just barely restraining as she always seemed to have no desire to show that weakness to her.

"I'm sure you did…" Padparadscha said with a warm smile as she pulled her partner into a hug, hoping to do something to at least ease the pain her apparent extended absence had brought. "I'm sorry for putting you through that," she whispered as Rutile slid into the embrace and hugged back tightly. This was hardly a side to Rutile she ever saw, and that gave her some powerful mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was heart-warming to see her so genuinely relieved to see her, but on the other, this vulnerability was only drawn out from years of pent up hurt.

After a solid four minutes of just embracing in silence Rutile broke the hug and looked up at her. "We should inform sensei and the others that you're awake"

"Well, nothing says 'I'm back' more effectively than strolling past all of them in broad daylight, the uniform swap alone will make me stick out like a sore thumb. Closing her Rutile glanced back at the bowl on the table before completely disentangling herself from Padparadscha.

"… I see time hasn't mellowed your sense of humour, it's been missed" she said as she motioned for Padparadscha to follow her.

"Huh, has it?" she said with an amused laugh as she followed Rutile to the main hall where a few other gems were hanging about. What quickly followed as she came to a view were a handful of shocked yelps and shrieks as all the surrounding gems dropped what they were doing to approach her.

"Padparadscha!" Heliodor chirped as she hugged the older gem by the waist and almost knocking her off her feet. She managed a little chuckle as she patted the gems head and glanced up at the other

"Its been ages senpai, we thought you were gone," Benitoite said as she walked over to Padparadscha.

"Welcome back," Chrysoberyl said with a smile while holding some books in her arm.

"Thanks, everyone" she replied sheepishly as other gems poured into the room form all the commotion.

She got a few more friendly hugs from Alexandrite, Yellow Diamond, and a few others while Rutile went off to fetch sensei but there were good few unaccounted. Likely patrolling the fields in case, the Lunarians attacked and hopefully not whisked away to the moon.

Once the pleasantries were over and Sensei had arrived the others went back to their tasks with the exception of Yellow, Rutile, Alexandrite and Chrysoberyl. Call it a bit predictable but as the oldest gems present they'd spent thousands of years alongside each other, that gave a certain bond that couldn't quite be replicated with any of their youngers.

"I've been gone long enough for everyone to have a change of clothes and renovate the main hall. I'm guessing its been a few years."

"… Well, that's putting it lightly" Yellow Diamond stated prompting Padparadscha to glance at her wearily. Something told her she didn't want to push that line of questioning. But sensei did it anyway.

"Padparadscha. Do you know how long you've bee gone?" sensei asked with an expectant look.

"… Maybe six or eight years" she said feeling like that was a decent estimation, but when everyone looked at her sorrowfully she shrunk back "What? How long was I out then?"

After shifting his gaze between Rutile and Padparadscha Kongou looked tried to articulate a response when Rutile answered first "It's been twenty-eight years and three months since you fell into your coma and in that period I've operated on you a total of seven thousand five hundred and ninety-six times" Rutile explained as Pads eyes widened in horror from the reveal.

* * *

She was walking along the field now, blade in hand with Yellow at her side. Rutile, Chrysoberyl and Alex had more work to attend to, and though she did protest her walking outside alone they eventually compromised when Yellow offered to escort her. Not that she felt like she ever had anything to fear personally from the Lunarians. Pad just wanted some personal space to take it all in and was just tolerating the company.

"I know you probably want to be alone after that bombshell, but everyone's just worried about you" Yellow explained as they walked along the grass, the sun sparkling over their powdered bodies. "But I guess you probably don't need any protection."

"We didn't lose anyone while I was out cold, did we?" Padparadscha asked with an anxious look in her eye to which Yellow shook her head.

"Don't worry Pad, maybe a few close calls but we've all stepped up since then, and with Bort on the frontlines, everything's been calm" Yellow said prompting Padparadscha to blink in surprise.

"Wait, Borts a fighter now?"

"I guess you weren't around, but she really is amazing in a fight, possibly just as good if not a little faster than you" Yellow stated. It made sense, she supposed. Bort had all the potential in the world, and she was probably doing all she could to harness it.

"Really? I'll have to see that in action to believe it" Padparadscha said with a playful smile before shading her eyes to look over the horizon. She could just vaguely make out a pair of silhouettes on the horizon walking in their direction. "Any other changes other than that?"

"Well, Rutile's retired from fighting on the field to be a full-time medic. Other than that everything's the same as its always been, just not with you around…" Yellow admitted her tone. Her head slumped in guilt from the reveal, even if she already an inkling from the way she dressed she couldn't help but feel responsible.

"I see… I'm sure it hasn't been easy on her" she said as she felt Yellow rub her back.

"It was hard on all of us, actually. You're pretty irreplaceable as far as friends go Pad" Yellow said prompting her to glance back at her. "You know… I didn't realise just how much I'd miss you until you were gone" she said, her head nudging just a little too close to with so much honest it rose the slightest of blushes to her cheek.

"Ah. You're close…" Padparadscha pointed out to which Yellow's cheeks went gold in emberrasment before backing away.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I just got a bit carried away" she said averting her gaze utter mortification.

"Don't worry... I appreciate it a lot Yellow. Thanks for saying that" she said just managing to smile at Yellow despite the awkward tension surrounding them. However, before it could last any longer, a cold wind passed by and they glanced up in time to see a sunspot forming over some feet behind them in the sky.

She immediately tensed up at the all too familiar sight as she unsheathed her Nagamaki and focused her gaze on the shape they would form to get a fix on what their formation would be. "On your guard" Yellow warned as she also drew her katana.

Instead of forming in a long horizontal line the Lunarians were splint into three rows of archers that already had their bows drawn back when they formed, seems they were going for a more aggressive approach. Turning to Yellow she spoke.

"Think you can give me a launch pad?" she said to which the other gem gave a slight smirk before the both breaking into a sprint towards their adversaries that left a blurry gold streak behind. Padparadscha only took a moment to gauge the vertical distance between them and the Lunarians before leaping about eight feet into the air in a single bound her body just almost making it to the base of where their little floating perch before her assent slowed to halt and her body plummeted back down.

As her body descended she performed a mid-air flip so her feet were facing the ground as she peered below her to see just the smallest flash of yellow beneath her, it was all the heads up she needed and she lined her feet up as she felt the side of yellows form the briefest foothold for her to get launched even further into the air. Her body zipping right over the Lunarians who fired their arrows wildly to try and get a hit in, but any shot that she didn't immediately deflect was either too far off or too low to reach her.

While they were distracted Yellow who still had enough momentum to reach them began slicing the Lunarians one after another as Padparadscha crashed on top of the tallest one, her sword cleaving the body half and moving straight to the next enemy that she cut down just as Yellow sliced down the Lunarian ahead of her. There were at least twelve more of them surrounding them and moving as a single unit the gems cut down each one with maximum efficiency while covering each other's flanks.

Soon there were only about five of them left but just as Padparadscha was about to move in and strike them all down a vaguely familiar dark figure appeared at the edge of her peripheral and landed right in front of her, forcing her to come to a staggering stop.

"Who…" she wasn't sure if she was annoyed or confused at the mystery gem for getting in her way. But without so much as a backward glance, she lunged right at the Lunarians, shattering the bow off one's arm before following up with a decapitation. Both Yellow and Padparadscha ceased fighting in favour of watching the gem brutally strike the last of them down, though while it was more astonishment in Pads case, Yellow looked more relieved as the final Lunarian was cut down. When it finally clicked Pad glanced at Yellow who sheathed her blade.

"Like I said, Bort's incredible," Yellow said assuming a more relaxed composure.

"…Huh". Placing an arm on her hip, she regarded the gems back in awe as she turned around to regard the two of them. Almost instantly making eye contact with Padparadscha, though before any words could pass between them, the sunspot faded beneath their legs and the gems all landed softly on their feet.

After briefly dusting themselves off Bort gave her a scrutinising glare, akin to sensing a bit of familiarity but not really grasping it. "And who are you supposed to be?" Bort asked rather bluntly as she scanned her from head to toe.

 _'Well I see she's as demanding as she's always been'_

The thought passed the redheads mind as she brushed her back. "Forgotten me so easily?" Padparadscha replied with an exasperated expression as she sheathed her blade. In response, Bort raised a brow and looked to Yellow Diamond.

"Forgotten you? I've never met you…Yellow Diamond. Who is that gem?" she asked, her tone curt and straight to the point. Drawing a slight frown on Pad from the dismissive nature she seemed to regard her. It was honestly a bit whiplash-inducing, seeing a gem that to her just a few minutes ago could only just speak in grunts and enjoyed pats to the head act with such a commanding presence

"Well, Bort… This is Padparadscha… The first gem that found you" Yellow Diamond pointed out as Bort turned back to her. In response, Bort squinted slightly to get a better look at Pad before for the briefest of instances a flash of emotions ran through her before settling back into a blank gaze

"I see. I thought I noticed a mild resemblance. So, Rutile's finally succeeded then?". It was more a statement than a question as she folded her arms and looked towards the school.

"I suppose so…" Padparadscha said, running a finger along her chest where some crystals had been inserted to cover up her numerous holes in her torso.

"Bort!" she heard Dia's familiar singsong voice yelling out and looked over her shoulder to see the gem running over to them, looking quite out of breath as she stopped just a few feet away from her partner who gave her a passing glance. "You ran off without saying a word Bort…" Dia whined as her arms slumped over on her knees panting. That was when she spotted Padparadscha who gave a friendly wave.

"Hey Dia" she greeted as the gems eyes widened in shock.

"Padparadscha, your back!" Diamond said with a smile quickly forming on her lips. "I was really worried you'd never wake up again. Thank goodness" she said, intertwining her fingers and smiling warmly at Pad.

"Well, Rutile fixed me up so, I'm here to stay" she replied, returning the smile. Bort who so far had taken her return with little more than indifference and passing acknowledgment began walking away.

"Meet me by our usual patrol route when you're done with your little reunion," Bort said as she walked past Diamond who flinched slightly by the curt tone Bort used, more akin to an order than anything else. But being the soft-spoken kind gem, she was Diamond replied with the same kind tone she always used

"I'll be there shortly" Diamond responded with a smile to Bort as she passed by her and kept walking. The allowed a few seconds to pass as Borts figure retreated into the distance before resuming their conversation. "She can be a bit rough around the edges but she's really nice when you get to know her"

"Now who does that remind me of?" Padparadscha muttered with a smile, she wasn't going to judge Bort from a single encounter, maybe she wasn't too friendly and was a bit direct but her skills more than compensated if that display was anything to go by.

"I'd say Rutile but in a different way" Yellow answered, stepping closer to Padparadscha.

"Yup," she said as she turned to Diamond, a gust of wind and leaves tossing her hair forward.

"I think I owe you an apology Diamond," Padparadscha said in a sincere tone, catching the gem off guard.

"An apology… For what senpai?" she asked in confusion to which Padparadscha let out an amused giggle. That's right, over twenty years had passed for her.

"For not keeping our agreement on training her together," she said looking at Bort in the distance. "Instead conveniently fell into a coma and left you with everything by yourself."

"Oh. You don't need to worry about that Padparadscha, everyone helped out with it, and Bort was a fast learner" Diamond said waving her hands in a reassuring motion as Padparadscha frown widened. "And besides that, you just offered to help, you weren't obligated to do anything

"I guess you have a point. But as a fighter, I could have offered her a lot." Padparadscha admitted with her eyes downcast.

"Come on Pad, you had no control over that. And even then Bort still ended up being stronger and faster than any of us" Yellow pointed out giving Padparadscha a slight pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, Senpai Bort's incredible, so much more than I ever was. You saw what she did to the Lunarians" Diamond said in agreement. Putting aside the immediate guilt in her gut she supposed Bort's speed, and strength were far beyond that which most of them were capable. Faster than even Pad herself? Well, that was anyone's guess. So long as she was faster than the Lunarians, those comparisons didn't matter to her.

"True, I suppose I'm just being silly" Pad conceded, resting her sword.

"Well, your feelings are understandable Pad. Just don't beat yourself up about" Yellow said with an understanding smile, giving her shoulder a supportive squeeze, she returned the gesture by placing her arm over Yellows.

"Leave it me to make the mood sulky on a warm sunny day like this, thanks guys," Padparadscha said with a grin, assuming her usually upbeat mannerisms. "Better start making myself useful again."

"Ha, that's the Padparadscha we know and love" the gold-haired gem encouraged as Dia nodded in agreement before looking back a bit uncertainly.

"Yeah, keep your spirits up senpai… I think I should head back before Bort gets impatient" Dia said with an apologetic look. "Can we chat later Senpai?"

"Ah, sure thing. I've probably got a lot of catching up to do with everyone else" Padparadscha said with an understanding nod, but just before leaving she gave Pad a quick bear hug before turning on her heel and hurrying back leaving her Pad and Yellow Diamond alone once again.

After a brief pause, a mischievous thought crossed the old gems mind as she glanced over at her long-time friend. "Where were we? Oh yeah, I believe you were in the middle of saying how much you missed and adored me Yellow" Pad teased with a toothy grin that almost instantly rose the heat back to her cheeks.

They both knew full well that Padparadscha was teasing her but that didn't make any easier to ignore the blush on Yellows cheeks

"Wel-l-l yes… I said that" the gem answered, folding her arms and pouting slightly. It didn't last though, and after a few seconds Yellow managed to compose herself and reply with only the smallest dark gold on her cheeks "Well… If the goal of bringing that up was to make me blush. Mission accomplished Padparadscha"

"I'll take that victory" she replied with a giggle before looking up to the sky. "Just so you know. I'm really glad you said that… Helps remind me more than just a layabout".

They're eyes met and kept contact probably longer than they needed to before breaking away and even though no words passed between them, it felt like a silent understanding passed between the two longtime comrades.


End file.
